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 NET2PHONE TO LAUNCH INTERNET SHOPPING PORTAL POWERED BY IP TELEPHONY
New E-Commerce Portal, EZSurf, to start with over
1,000,000 users --
Further globalizes the Internet with services aimed directly
at aiding
international users to complete online sales
Hackensack, NJ--Jan. 19, 1999-- IDT's (NASDAQ: IDTC)
Net2Phone today announced that it will launch the first web
shopping portal powered by
Internet telephony. The new site, EZSurf(TM) (www.ezsurf.com),
will integrate voice, graphics, and eventually video and push
technology to enhance the online shopper's experience.
- EZSurf provides users, particularly those living outside
the U.S., with the value-added information needed to buy products
online. As the international market increasingly becomes a
focus in truly globalizing e- commerce, EZSurf will provide
visitors with an array of retailer sites as well as important
information regarding each vendor, such as multiple payment
options (including billing against their Net2Phone accounts),
availability of global shipping, ability to track orders online,
etc. Additionally, by incorporating IP telephony communication
services, visitors will be able to contact retailers via voice
interaction in real time without the need to visit the retailer's
web site. EZSurf will be launched on February 1, 1999, and
will be marketed directly to over 1,000,000 Net2Phone users
and through online advertising.
"It is clear that customers have been spending more time
online, but we want to ensure that they actually make their
purchases online as well," said
David Greenblatt, Chief Operating Officer of Net2Phone. "Surfers
can spend up to an hour just looking for critical information
such as e-mail addresses, phone numbers and international
shipping possibilities, and EZSurf gives users value-added
content combined with Internet telephony services to make
the user's experience online significantly easier and faster.
We can now turn many of those online window shoppers into
actual buyers."
Multimedia Features
IDT's premier Internet telephony services, Net2Phone(TM) and
Click2Talk(TM), will be fully integrated into EZSurf, allowing
visitors to call retailers, friends and family via the Internet.
Using Net2Phone and Click2Talk, recipients do not need a computer
in order to receive telephone calls. Net2Phone enables voice
data to be carried over the Internet's packet switched network
until it reaches traditional telephone infrastructure. There
the signal is converted to the circuit switched network used
by telephones, enabling the signal to be received by any phone
worldwide.
Other informational portals, such as Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO)
and Excite (NASDAQ: XCIT) have already integrated Net2Phone
and Click2Talk into their directories. EZSurf gives users
an additional element of comfort by letting the users contact
retailers directly from the web without having to visit their
sites while already online.
Additionally, IDT will introduce and promote EZSurf to its
current customers, and will embed an EZSurf icon into the
next release of the Net2Phone client software, which will
be bundled into more than 30 million packages through relationships
with IBM (NYSE: IBM), Creative Labs (NASDAQ: CREAF), Packard
Bell/NEC Europe and others. EZSurf will also feature Click2CallMe(TM),
IDT's new web-based callback service. This service uses regular
telephone lines for voice traffic and is designed for customers
who do not have multimedia PCs. When an individual clicks
on the Click2CallMe button a data entry panel opens, prompting
the customer to enter his/her telephone number and schedule
the time for his/her callback. The call server places a call
over the telephone network to the requested number (the customer)
at the scheduled time. The customer is asked for confirmation
and the call server places a call over the telephone network
to the help/sales desk and connects the two parties.
Solve Credit Card Fears
With 89% of computer users worrying about transactional security
(Dell/Louis Harris & Associates poll), EZSurf presents
unique capabilities for users to speak to a "live"
human representative, resolving security fears and adding
a human element to an increasingly digitized universe.Help
for International Users Web sites frequently do not take international
users into account when selling their products online. EZSurf
will provide information regarding international shipping,
multiple payment options, and multilingual support, enabling
the globalization of business on the web. Furthermore, Click2Talk
will allow users around the world to speak with the retailer
from anywhere FREE OF CHARGE using U.S. toll-free numbers.
Hundreds of thousands of calls have been placed through Net2Phone
to businesses worldwide, notably computer companies, airlines,
financial institutions, and online trading companies such
as Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), American Airlines, British Airways
(NYSE:BAB), China Airlines, Citibank, Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER),
E-Trade (NASDAQ: EGRP), Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCH), Discover
Card, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), AOL (NYSE:AOL), IBM (NYSE:IBM),
Compaq NYSE:CPQ), 3COM (NASDAQ: COMS), Cybrerian Outpost (NASDAQ:
COOL), Kmart (NYSE: KM), CompUSA (NYSE:CPU), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:
AMZN), General Motors (NYSE:GM), Hertz (NYSE:HRZ), and Microwarehouse.
By offering EZSurf, we enable the true globalization of businesses
by connecting international customers to merchants at no cost.
Change Point-of-Purchase Even though many online retailers
have gone to extensive lengths to encourage users to purchase
online, many users prefer to browse through the site, conduct
research and compare values. Users finally place the actual
purchase order over the phone, though many sites fail to make
a phone number available for ordering. By adding the human
element as well as providing additional relevant information,
EZSurf helps complete the sale significantly faster and enhance
the customer's online experience.
For more information about EZSurf, please call 888-872-1230
or send e-mail to sales@click2talk.com. IDT is a leading emerging
multinational carrier that combines its position as an international
telecommunications operator, its experience as an Internet
service provider and its leading position in Internet telephony
to provide a broad range of telecommunications services to
its wholesale and retail customers worldwide. The company
provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced
international and domestic long distance, pre-paid calling
cards, Internet access and, through its Net2Phone product
offerings, Internet telephony services including Net2Phone
Direct, Net2Fax, and Click2Talk. For more information about
IDT's Internet telephony services, please visit www.net2phone.com.
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